You just got invited to a new tabletop role playing session, and guess what? You’re the dungeon master! This week we’re going to discuss what do do when it’s your first time dungeon mastering a game, whether it’s your first time with role playing games, the first time dungeon mastering a system you’ve played before, or you’ve run a game before but in a different system, there’s information here for you!
It’s our first full episode and we’re going to cover the required gear that you’ll need to get yourself started dungeon mastering. More importantly, we will talk about rules! Do you need to know how to roll for a character untying a knot behind their back while being beaten over the head with a fish? Do you need to know every single rule in that massive players hand book? We’ll cover how to address the rules and when it’s useful to have a rules nerd at your table. Finally, we’ll discuss some options to get a bunch of characters to actually turn into a party.
Do you have something to say about starting out as a DM that we might have missed? Click on contact and let us know! Also let us know if you’ve got ideas for future show topics!
Episode 0: You’ve Become DM, Now What?
J: Hey Felicia, some of us were talking about getting together to play Dungeons and Dragons this weekend, you in?
F: Yeah, that sounds really fun. Is Chad going to be DM-ing?
J: Oh, Chad would be an awesome DM. But about Chad…
F: What do you mean about Chad?
J: In this episode of BecomingDM, what to do when you’ve been Chad-ed and how to handle your first foray into dungeon mastering.
J: Hey, everyone, this is John.
F: And this is Felicia.
J: And really before we get too deep into this topic of like, what happens when you get pulled into your first foray into the DM-ing, we kind of have to address that there’s a bunch of different kinds of first time DMs. I mean, when I (very long ago) started DM-ing a game, I had already played Dungeons and Dragons for many years, I had a lot of experience and had seen a lot of different DMs do what they do. And so, when I started there, it was a very easy transition. I knew the rules pretty well. I knew what an adventure looked like. And then on, I got pulled into new game systems. So, it was kind of like a new experience all over but you still had experience on the back end. But what about you, what’s been your experience?
F: So my gaming experience was pretty much the opposite of yours. I was still relatively new to Dungeons and Dragons when I started DM-ing. And my whole experience was that we’d been playing with one group off and on for a little over a year and then that group fell apart. And we didn’t really have anyone to continue the dungeon master role. I ended up just sort of taking on the reins and seeing how that was. But, I was not as familiar with the rules or with how everything went during my first time trying to run my own campaign. So, it was a very new experience for me, very much hit the ground running, very much just trying to figure things out on my own, especially because we had so many people in our group that were also new to Dungeons and Dragons as a whole. So, it was definitely a learning experience.
J: Yeah. And so, going even further in that direction, you still have people that get brought in to a role-playing game and it’s their first experience ever with a role-playing game. And they get recruited to be the dungeon master because well, hey, they’re the creative one in their group or something like that. I mean, that’s the situation that would terrify me.
F: Yeah, that’s kind of how I got drawn in. They were like, “Oh, Felicia, you love making stories you and you love writing! You’re that person that loves the creative aspect of it. So you’d make a great DM.” “Okay, I’ll give it a shot.”
J: So, when we talk about the types of DM, that kind of brings us into really what people need when they’re first starting. And if you’re the type of DM that’s done this before, some of this may be just, “I know this, I know this, I know this.” But for those that aren’t, let’s talk maybe about what kind of gear you need. Because it’s not just a matter of just showing up and saying, “I’m a DM.” Yeah, that’d be great.
F: That’d be great if everything fell into place right then.
J: And really, in my mind, when we talk about the things that DM need, I really kind of see three core things, though you probably have a different list than I do. But, the first and most obvious is (and it depends on what it’s called for each game system) the rulebook (the core rulebook for Pathfinder or the Player’s Manual for D&D). Second, is pretty obvious, you need dice, because you got a role for those NPCs and whether they’re gonna kill your adventurers are not. And then third, in my mind, (and again, this is a very high-level list) is that you need to, as a dungeon master, decide whether you’re going to do a pre-built adventure or not. And if so, you need to buy those manuals for that. If you’re going to do a home-brew, build your own type of adventure, you have a lot of work to go into that. And we’re going to get into some of that work in a later episode. It’s really beyond the scope of our first episode here. But beyond those three things, those are kind of the things that I see as necessary basics. You gotta have these. What about you? What things do you see as kind of necessary?
F: I definitely agree with the core rulebook. One thing I discovered early on was with new players in our group, not everyone had even purchased their own book yet. So, we ended up having to share. And so, my copy of the rulebook as DM was integral to moving the game forward, because we just didn’t have enough books to go around. And kind of along those same lines, I’ve realized that having extras of everything has proven to be very, very helpful. Because people tend to forget a lot of things, like their own pencils, their own paper, and their own dice. And like you mentioned, an extra set of dice is important. Not just your own set, but extra sets for other players. Again, especially if you know you’re playing with a group of new people, chances are they probably don’t all have their own supplies yet. I would say it really depends on the type of game that you’re playing, (if you’re using miniatures or otherwise). And, again, we can expand on this topic in a different episode. But, if you are doing something that’s a little more miniature oriented, I personally like having a grid with dry-erase markers. And I also have my own set of little figurines that I use for my bad guys. And those are the things I do because we have very visually oriented players. So for me, I just kind of have those kinds of supplies set aside. I have my core rule book, I have my dice, and then I have my essentials like paper, pencil, figurines, and a map.
J: And I think you said something that’s really core to the dungeon mastering experience, which is knowing your players. Because you’re going to have players that think a certain way and you’re going to have players that play a certain way. And you’ll have those that want to do things like really intense role-playing and those that become shrinking wallflowers as soon as role-playing comes into effect. And knowing how to engage them, how you’re doing your job as Dungeon Master, really helps to find what things you’re going to need to bring into the game, as that starting point.
F: I definitely agree. I think the type of DM you are and the type of players you have within your group are the two strongest contributing factors to how the game is going to go. It determines even the simplest of things. So, in terms of your basic toolkit and storyline, are you going to build your own campaign or if you’re actually going to do a pre-made campaign. And when I first started as DM, I did a pre-made starter kit that had everything I needed. It had a set of dice, pre-made character sheets, the storyline, and an abbreviated core rulebook. And that was essentially everything that I needed to at least begin my campaign and get all the players started. So, that was how, as a DM, I ended up starting everything off. And that was then my learning experience about how I needed this and that.
J: Yeah, and a lot of the systems that are out there will have this beginner set. So, Pathfinder has the beginner’s box. And D&D has a beginner set. It gives people the opportunity to start off with a much less intensive rule set and also have everything they need to get started in one box without having to go, “What did I forget at the game store?” Or “Man, I really wish I would have had this.” It’s a great way to get started if you’ve never done a role-playing game before
F: Exactly.
J: So, one of the things that a lot of beginning DMs struggle with are the rules. And as I mentioned before, the beginner’s box starts you off kind of rules-light. But, if you’re starting off with that core rulebook or player’s handbook, there are hundreds and hundreds of pages of rules. So it can really be off-putting if you’re getting involved in the game. Of course, maybe you’re just really into rules and it can be like your Nirvana. But what do you really think, are the best approaches for a new DM when it comes to rules? Do they need to know all those things?
F: I don’t think they absolutely have to understand or even know all of the rules. I mean, depending again on your players, you could have some players that are very experienced and know the rules better than you. Like I said, most of my experience tends to be with other new players and they’re only going to know what I explain to them. So, I do try to cover at least the very basics. In Dungeons and Dragons, for example, roll for perception roll for initiative. This is a 20-sided die, the one thing you need in every circumstance. If you’re a spell caster, you have to go to sleep each day so that you can recharge your battery for your spells. Or on each turn in combat, you get one move and one action (and bonus action, if applicable). So, I try to at least explain those basics. For me, whenever we were first playing campaigns, we just would sort of stumble across the rules. When a certain scenario came up it was like, “Oh, am I allowed to do this?” Or “What happens with this?” And it was just as much of an exploration for me as it was for my players. And sometimes, (probably more often than not) I would honestly just wing it the best of my knowledge. And I would hope that it was the right answer and would just try to stick to it. I think, as a new DM, even if you don’t know all the rules, I think the importance is just consistency. If you do create a rule or if you do find a rule that is applicable in the big scheme of things, just be consistent with it. And just to make sure that you enforce that rule each time. But I don’t think you need to be a rule Nazi and be like, “These are all the rules and we’re going to play exactly by them! And I’m not going to allow for any flexibility!” I think that’s a bit of a buzzkill.
J: Yeah, and you said something there about when you make a rule. I think one of the things new teams may not think about is when you make a rule, there are going to be players at your table that will consider that the golden rule that stands forever. So, if you ever experience a situation that they’re in, at that moment, later on, they will expect you to follow that same rule. So there’s a couple of things to keep in mind with that. First off, if you can quickly find a rule in the book, that’s always the best. Typically, if you can’t or you don’t have time, then you can either do one of a couple of things. You can say, “I’m going to make this ruling now. But guys, I’m going to do some research and I’ll come back to you and come with a final ruling for all future adventures.” Or you can say, “I’m going to make a ruling. This is it, guys.” But keep in mind when you do stuff like that, you could potentially break the game in the long run because those rules again, they stay with you forever. And if they don’t make sense for certain situations, that could twist what your ruling did, which could really be a problem for you.
F: Yeah, I think flexibility then is also a key thing. For example, I was doing a campaign one time and they were in a dungeon or dark room. And I say roll for perception. And everyone rolled terribly. And the idea in that part of the campaign was that they had to notice something in order to move the game along further. They were supposed to stumble across something. Now, normally, if you roll low for perception, well, tough luck.
J: Yeah. “What are we doing? We can do anything.”
F: So in that case, I just said roll again because they were new players, and as a new DM, I just wasn’t sure how to move the story along any other way. So it’s sort of like, you make the best of the scenario that you’re in, you know? And honestly, how do they know any better? Like, when you’re giving the rules, if you’re allowing them to roll again, for them, it’s just like, “okay, that’s just part of the ruleset.” If a circumstance comes where no one has been able to achieve that bare minimum, then reset button. Let’s try again.
J: Yeah and I think that really the core thing here to remember as a new DM is you need to have a good grasp of the core mechanics of the system that you’re playing. So, in D&D and Pathfinder, you need to know how initiative works, you need to know how perception works, and how hitting against armor classes and things like that works. And you need to know how skills work and how you roll those. But, when it comes to things like understanding how to roll on what the difficulty is, when you’re swimming, wearing armor, carrying a half laying on your back, and whistling Dixie, that those are very specific cases and no reasonable person is going to really remember what those rules are from the book. So, it’s okay to look them up. It’s also okay if you have a player at your table that has an encyclopedic knowledge to leverage them and say, “Hey Billy, do you remember what the rules say about this?” Because there are from time to time going to be people at your table that are the oracle of all knowledge of your role-playing system. And hopefully, they’re not the people that that will argue every point with you. Hopefully, they understand that you’re going to make some decisions counter to those rules. But if you have those people at the table and you can use them like that, that’s helpful too.
F: I wholeheartedly agree. We have one gentleman in our group, whose been playing since the beginning of D&D time. And he knows every rule there is to know, from past editions to the current one. And he is always my go-to every time I have a question. I’m like, “So what’s the answer? Do you know? Should I be able to do this?” I do also make it a point to preface things. So, when I’m starting a brand new campaign with a new group and it’s a hodgepodge of experiences, I do always let them know ahead of time that, “Hey, I am relatively new DM, so just understand that the rules are going to be pretty basic. If something does come up, we’ll deal with it as it comes.” But, I’m not going to overcomplicate things or put out too many rules or make it too complex, just so that everyone is able to enjoy on the same playing field. And I think keeping that transparency and those open lines of communication sets everyone’s expectations. I think as a DM (and especially as a new DM), if you don’t necessarily make that clear to a group that has different experience levels, you may end up having a bit of head-butting or disagreement with rulings and things like that, because none of that was really set ahead of time or made clear to like your group.
J: Yeah and if you do get to the point where you’re making those judgment calls, where you’re saying this is the rule now, you yourself need to document those. So, if you have some sort of campaign log, it’s nice to have a section in the back that says, “Rules.” And these are the rules that apply to this that may be different than what the book has. Because, again, you’re going to have those players that are the guru of all knowledge. And when you make a, that becomes part of their knowledge,
F: Absolutely.
J: It helps you to remember by just keeping track of that. Well, consulting the rules of our podcast, I think we have to move on to the next topic here. But good so far! So, really, the last thing we’re going to cover here is, you’ve got all this stuff, maybe you’ve got an adventure module or you’ve built your own campaign, and you’re doing an adventure around that. But how do you get started? You’ve got all these people, so how do you go from just having a bunch of people to having a party?
F: Eyes all on you.
J: Yeah. And I mean, you’ve got the classic tropes, you’ve got where you can meet in a bar or have everybody get thrown into jail in the beginning and for some reason, they meet there. Or they just randomly stumble upon each other in the forest. And admittedly, they’re tropes, so they always seem a little bit contrived. But it’s an easy way to do it. Have you had any like really good, “meet in the bar” type situations that you do?
F: Meeting in the bar has been the most common one for me, just because I happen to be in a group where several characters have come in and out. And so when I’m interweaving characters, the bar just happens to be the place to go.
J: Everybody wants to have a drink.
F: Yea, I mean, who doesn’t want to have a drink and share a pint? But it gives me a chance to have my current characters recap what they’re doing. And chances are the new characters coming in either overhear the story or somehow interact with the current characters within that bar setting. So, some may say it’s a copout, an easy way out. But it just happens to be the most convenient way for me to weave in new characters, and so is my go-to. But when I did start one of my previous campaigns, all of my characters happen to be delivering goods from one town to another. And they were within the same delivery group on the path in the forest that was then set upon by goblins. So that, even though it’s technically in a forest, it was still sort of from town to town, so a slightly different scenario. I haven’t had the jail experience yet.
J: Yeah, I’ve played in a couple of campaigns where we all met in jail because we did some heinous thing they got thrown in there. Which is always interesting, because when you get thrown into jail at the beginning of an adventure and you didn’t have a part in getting thrown into jail, it’s like, “I wouldn’t have done that!” But there are other ways that you can really connect players together that may require a little bit more work or planning. If you have backstories for your characters, and your players actually put some effort into those backstories, you can try to weave those together again. You gotta hope that there’s some common thread that you can find there or manufacturer based upon those things. But that is a nice way to have them become committed to each other and not just say, “I don’t like this guy at the bar, I’m going to attack him.”
F: Yeah, that’s a great first impression.
J: And then the other way (and this is probably my favorite way), which kind of goes closely to what you’re saying about being guards of a caravan, is to just drop everyone right into an action scenario. So you give them a brief description of, “Hey, this is what you’ve been doing for the past hour week. You’re traveling along with something or you’re you’ve been on guard duty or whatever.” And then just drop them into action. And by force of having a common enemy, becoming brothers in arms, suddenly your players are now glued together, to some effect.
F: That’s a smart way to approach it. I mean, the caravan is a great example. I think there was one scenario you had done where it was sort of like new recruits drafted into service for one thing or another and you all happen to see the same bounty or same reward for certain and so that’s how you come across each other’s paths.
J: Yeah, I was running a Shadow Run game a while back and one of the guys was a hacker. And then we had a mercenary. And so one of the ways that I kind of tied them together is that they each had a separate job that they were working on. So, the Hacker is hacking into a door to open it up and he gets it open and gets into the system. And the guy he’s on the job with suddenly says there’s been a change of plan and shoots him in the back of the head. And now they all kind of find out that they’ve been betrayed by the same employer and that kind of bonds them together. So, there’s a lot of different ways that you can do it. It just really depends on what your players are going to respond to and how much work you want to put into it.
F: I think that’s important. And again, like we were saying, full circle, it goes back to the type of DM you are and the type of players you have. So, it can really be either classic tropes or an off the beaten path scenario.
J: So, that was really all we had for our first episode. Hopefully, you enjoyed it! We sure had a lot of fun talking about this stuff. We’re going to have a lot more topics, a lot of broader topics as we move forward.
F: Absolutely!
J: But if you have ideas that you’d like us to discuss, please go check out Becoming DM. com and click on ‘contact.’ We’d love to hear from you and get your thoughts on an episode.
F: Absolutely, we’d love to hear anything you guys would like for us to talk about!
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